Dolphins’ defense got big second-half stops against Bills... except at the end
Shortly after Tyler Bass’ kick went through the uprights to seal the Miami Dolphins’ 32-29 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Jaelen Phillips took a moment to himself on the field at Highmark Stadium.
“We invest so much,” the linebacker said afterward. “Losing is one of the most difficult things. But at the end of the day, we’re gonna recoup and bring it next week.”
Phillips, like so many of his defensive teammates, took the loss hard.
Especially since the win was in their grasps.
And especially because the Dolphins’ defense showed it could compete against a high-octane Bills offense.
After a first-half struggle, the Dolphins held the Bills scoreless on their first five second-half possessions via four punts and a strip sack by Phillips (and recovery by Christian Wilkins) to give the Dolphins’ offense a chance to rally.
But then, Miami’s defense couldn’t get that all-too-valuable final stop.
The end result of that: Buffalo scoring 11 unanswered points And it cost them on Saturday.
“When you have two good teams playing against each other, those are the type of games that come down to a game-ending field goal,” linebacker Elandon Roberts said. “We’re not holding our heads down and stuff. Obviously you feel the emotion.”
It all unfolded in the final 11:56, after the Dolphins went up 29-21 by scoring the first 16 points of the second half.
Quarterback Josh Allen, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns in the first half but was just 4 for 9 for 46 yards with a lost fumble in the first five second-half possessions, quickly drove Buffalo down the field for a game-tying drive. The Bills went 75 yards in just seven plays and 2:54, capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Dawson Knox. Allen did most of the damage that drive with his legs, scampering for 44 yards to get inside Miami’s red zone.
Allen then kept the ball himself and leapt over the line of scrimmage to get the ball just over the goal line for a game-tying two-point conversion although the play was initially ruled that he fumbled the ball when Phillips and Roberts went to make the stop.
“That’s how they ruled it,” Phillips said of the overturned two-point conversion call, “so it is what it is.”
Just like that, it was 29-29 with 9:02 left to play.
Miami was still in it, still had the chance to pull the game out.
But the offense stalled on its ensuing drive, punting after five plays to give Buffalo possession with 5:56 left to play.
The Dolphins wouldn’t get the ball back again.
The Bills ran the final 15 plays, converting three third downs along the way — two via Allen passes to Stefon Diggs and Isaiah McKenzie, the third via a defensive pass interference on Kader Kohou that set the Bills up at the Dolphins’ 13 yard line with 45 seconds left.
“That’s a tough call,” Kohou said. “I wish I could get it back.”
Buffalo ran the ball three more times before Bass kicked the game-winning that sent Miami to its third consecutive loss.
“It all comes down to execution,” Phillips said, “and that’s what it’s going to be moving forward. ... We’ve got to make sure we’re playing sound football and executing the way need to if we want to win.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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